The band began by playing rhythm and blues music. After some early lineup changes, the band settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, which would stay together for most of the band's "classic era" through the late 1960s-early 1970s. Their second album, "Days of Future Passed", released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. Days Of Future Passed has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
The Moody Blues became known internationally by recordings of songs including "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has been awarded 18 platinum and gold LP’s. The band sold 70 million albums worldwide. The Moody Blues were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Moody Blues formed in 1964 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. Ray Thomas, a young John Lodge and (occasionally) Mike Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Pinder joined the army. Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. Back from a disappointing spell in the Hamburg region a few months later, the pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine and band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge. Pinder and Thomas initially approached their former El Riot bandmate John Lodge about being the bass player, but Lodge declined as he was still in college. They instead recruited bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the M&B Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M Bs" and "The M B Five", and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song "Mood Indigo". In an interview it was revealed that the band was named "Moody Blues" because Mike Pinder was interested in how music changes people's moods and due to the fact that the band was playing blues at the time. Around this time the band were the resident group at the Carlton Ballroom, later to become rock music venue Mothers on Erdington High Street.
The Moody Blues' "rich symphonic sound" influenced groups such as Yes, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple. They also helped make synthesizers and philosophy "part of the rock mainstream".
The Moody Blues became members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone Magazine voted for them as one of the ten bands that should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimate Classic Rock called them "perennial victims of an unaccountable snubbing" and inducted them into its own Hall of Fame in 2014.
Writing for The Guardian in 2015, Rob Chapman described the band as "psychedelia's forgotten heroes". He stated: "Despite their success, rock critics rarely took the Moody Blues seriously, a pattern that continued for the next 45 years." He also wrote: "Despite the critical disapproval, the best of the Moody Blues music between 1967 and 1970 possessed grace and beauty. Like The Beatles, they understood how pop songs worked as ensemble pieces. None of them were particularly virtuosic or showy as musicians and their music is refreshingly free of the noodling longeurs that characterised the output of their more self-indulgent contemporaries."
In December 2017, the band were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 14 April 2018, they were inducted as part of the 2018 class. During his acceptance speech in Cleveland, OH, Justin Hayward said, "If you didn't know already, well we're just a bunch of British guys, but of course to us and to all British musicians, this is the home of our heroes and we all know that..." acknowledging the inspirational role of America's rock and roll icons. During the ceremony, Ray Thomas was included as a star that was lost in the past year.
On 11th November 2021 Graeme Edge died. Upon Edge's death, Justin Hayward announced that The Moody Blues had no longer been active since Edge had retired in 2018 (Edge being the only member to remain with the band from formation to ending). Founding member Denny Laine died on 5 December 2023.
Let Me Go
The Moody Blues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't make out you're not at home;
It wouldn't hurt at all to answer the call.
When I hold you near,
When I call you dear,
You never seem to want to know me at all.
Oh baby,
Let me go.
Then you're gonna see my heart break.
I can't stand all this heartache
'Cause I love you so,
I find it hard to go,
Well, I can see a change in your ways
'Cause when I'm turning to
How much I think of you
You always look away in a gaze.
Oh baby,
Let me go.
If I stay around
Then you're gonna see my heart break.
I can't stand all this heartache
Like we lost
Every little of love you had for me, baby,
I'm doing, let me go [not sure of this line]
Let me go, let me go, this way,
When I telephone you
Don't make out you're not at home;
It wouldn't hurt at all to answer the call.
And when I hold you near,
When I call you dear,
You never seem to want to know me at all.
Oh baby,
Let me go.
If I stay around
Then you're gonna see my heart break.
And I can't stand all this heartache
You'd better let me go, baby,
Oh you'd better let me go, baby,
Oh yeah, let me go.
The Moody Blues's song Let Me Go is a heart-wrenching ballad of unrequited love. The lyrics depict a man who is desperately in love with a woman who does not reciprocate his feelings. He is reaching out to her, trying to connect, to feel that spark of mutual attraction, but she rebuffs him at every turn. Even when they are physically close, she shuts him out emotionally, leaving him feeling heartbroken and alone. The singer is imploring her to let him go, to end his suffering, rather than keep him hanging on to a love that is unattainable. The repetition of the line "Let me go" underscores his desperation, his yearning to break free of this emotional trap that is slowly destroying him.
The song is achingly beautiful, with gentle guitar strums and soft piano chords underscoring the emotive vocals. There is a sense of vulnerability and rawness in the performance, as if the singer is pouring his heart out to the listener, laying bare his pain for all to hear. The use of repetition, particularly in the chorus, adds to the emotional impact of the song, cementing the sense of desperation and hopelessness that pervades the lyrics.
Overall, Let Me Go is a powerful and poignant exploration of unrequited love, and the pain that it can cause. Through its beautiful melody and evocative lyrics, it captures the raw emotion and heartbreak of a love that is doomed to fail.
Line by Line Meaning
When I telephone you
When I try to reach out to you
Don't make out you're not at home;
Don't pretend that you're not there
It wouldn't hurt at all to answer the call.
It wouldn't cause any harm to pick up the phone.
When I hold you near,
When I'm close to you
When I call you dear,
When I address you affectionately
You never seem to want to know me at all.
You never seem interested in getting to know me
Oh baby,
Oh dear
Let me go.
Allow me to leave
If I stay around
If I continue to be here
Then you're gonna see my heart break.
Then you will witness my intense emotional pain.
I can't stand all this heartache
I cannot bear this excessive emotional pain
'Cause I love you so,
Because I have strong feelings of love for you
I find it hard to go,
I find it difficult to leave you
Well, I can see a change in your ways
I can observe a shift in your behavior
'Cause when I'm turning to
Because when I try to communicate with you
How much I think of you
How often I think about you
You always look away in a gaze.
You always avoid eye contact and seem uninterested.
Like we lost
As if we no longer have
Every little of love you had for me, baby,
All the affectionate feelings you had for me, dear
I'm doing, let me go [not sure of this line]
Unknown meaning
Let me go, let me go, this way,
Allow me to depart, let me leave in peace
You'd better let me go, baby,
It would be best for you to let me leave, dear
Oh you'd better let me go, baby,
It would be in your best interest to allow me to leave, dear
Oh yeah, let me go.
Please let me go.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DENNY LAINE, MIKE PINDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind